The Blog

I read last week that Luna are on their last (reunion) tour now. See link for details. Annoyingly, they are not coming anywhere near mainland Europe. Is there any Afterworder who has gone/is going to see them? It would be good at least to read if they were as good as I remember them – one of my favourite bands.

It’s The Magical World of, by the way, rather than The Olde World, which hasn’t arrived yet. Originally from 1997, and pre-Shack, this Head bros work seems to have built up a reputation by it’s very unavailability, and, as trumpeted in the press, the now clean elder sibling, Michael, has been doing the rounds promoting this new release of it. And it is fucking great. Think of all those quintessentially druggy 60s bands, and yes, I mean early Floyd, at least vocally, amongst others, with a tang of a more softly singing John Martyn, with a dash of early Joe Boyd produced REM and a Teenage Fanclub whimsicality. That about captures it, beautiful melodic ditties, largely acoustic, with occasional strings and recorder. Yes, recorder, that 60s.

What does it all *mean*?

Probably no more than one of our finest songwriters has been long in our midst, unrecognised and ungarnished, arguably destroyed by the same muse that indulged his talent. But he’s back. And I hope he is, as there have been many a false start along the way. I saw Shack back in sometimealongtimeago, supporting Beth Orton, and a sorry sad mess they were. Younger brother, John, still, it seems, conspicuously missing in action…….… Read more

Those really nice Amazon folks who we all love dearly, are offering Deke Leonard’s “Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics” and “Maybe I Should’ve Stayed In Bed?” at £5.99 apiece. Both very much worth a read if you have a Kindle or similar device. I believe the paperback versions are also available again for sensible money.

They’re also offering Bob Harris’ autobiography, “Still Whispering After All These Years” (crap title, Bob), Neil Munro’s “Some People Are Crazy: The John Martyn Story” and Annie Nightingale’s autobiography “Wicked Speed” at very low Kindle prices. Are these 3 worth a read?… Read more

The BBC Is fond of telling us that its footage of Queen at the Rainbow in 1975 is the band’s “legendary” show, while I – like many fans – was blown away by the footage of Hyde Park from the year after.

I’m sure that many in South America would tell you that Rock In Rio in 1984 was the one, while Live Aid in 85 and the Magic Tour gig att Wenbley are often cited as showing the band at the peak of their powers (which overlooks the fact that Freddie’s voice was on the wane, and some of the material was a little thin – Friends Will Be Friends after We Will Rock You? Really?).

But, I reckon I’ve found the gig that really is the best Queen footage out there: Earls Court, 1977. The only concession to punk is that Freddie’s hair is a couple of inches shorter. He’s still wearing a harlequin leotard for the most of the show. The set list is excellent: it’s the only time you’ll see them doing four of their very best songs: Brighton Rock, Death On Two Legs, You’re My Best Friend and even Millionaire’s Waltz. It’s also the only time you’ll see John Deacon pitching in on backing vocals and Brian May playing a ukulele.… Read more

I am in that there Laaarndern for a couple of photography exhibitions. The first one was at The Royal Geographical Society where they are showing the entries for Travel Photographer of the Year. Inspiring. Especially as the bulk of the exhibits are outside.
The second one is at the tiny Snap Gallery, in Piccadilly Arcade. It is showing a wonderful collection of photos of The Kinks. I love this one. It is actually a compilation of individual shots (no surprise, given their reputation). I love that the compiler has put Mick & Pete in the centre.
Just your three grand, if anyone is interested.
The exhibition is fantastic, and features one of Morgan Howell’s fantastic paintings of You Really Got Me, as well.

At my primary school, there was a yearly project to write a report on a company featured in a magazine we were given, called the British Trades Alphabet. All the companies featured would send you a package of goodies – often specially manufactured – including free samples, printed ephemera and so on. Cadbury were especially good – there was a cardboard cocoa pod (don’t laugh) which unfolded like a pop-up book. The magazine was printed (I later learned) in the forgotten process of rotogravure; the colours were rich and gorgeous, the paper of the highest quality. The whole thing (including the idea) was a product of the New Elizabethan ethos that produced the Festival of Britain; a lost age, along with S.R. Badmin and steam trains and Lilliput magazine.

There’s virtually nothing about it on the internet – is it familiar to anyone else here?… Read more

Have been waiting for the release of the deluxe edition of Present Arms which had been delayed and put back to an August release. Now Amazon are saying currently unavailable with no new date shown. Same with the deluxe Labour of Love although this one doesn’t interest me.
I know there has been a massive fall out between the Campbell Brothers and various lawsuits but is this the reason for the delayed release? Are they arguing about royalties etc?
It has been reviewed already so there have at least been promo releases.
I smell a rat in the kitchen. Anyone shed any light?… Read more

I stumbled across this on YouTube last night.
It’s a fascinating interview with Carole Kaye. She played guitar and bass on so many hits and films from the 60’s and 70’s.
She talks about her famous sessions and plays the bass and guitar through it all.
I think she may well be the coolest person on the planet.
Well worth an hour and 10 minutes of your weekend.

today, Celtic are listed as 1-50 odds on favourites to win their fifth straight SPL title in a row. For the uninitiated that means that if you fancy Celtic to win the league up there again you will need to put on £50 to have the chance of winning just £1 at the end of the season if they do.

That’s astonishing. A league that was once sneered at for being a ‘two-horse’ race would appear to have lost a horse somewhere.

We attended my wife’s godmother’s funeral yesterday. All pretty fraught due to having to transport elderly frail relatives there and back, but that’s another story. At the do afterwards some photos were passed around of Hazel when young, including this one. Can anyone shed any light on this peculiar bat and what game you played with it? I’ve put this on Facebook too and the best idea so far is that it is for training one to hit in the centre of the bat, but that’s pure guesswork. I’ve found nothing doing a Google search at all.

Any concrete information, with sources, would be appreciated. Or, alternatively, a good sport/cricket forum I could post to. Ta muchly in advance.

We attended my wife’s godmother’s funeral yesterday. All pretty fraught due to having to transport elderly frail relatives there and back, but that’s another story. At the do afterwards some photos were passed around of Hazel when young. This one is intriguing:
[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/milboro/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150730_163229_zpswzw1mcag.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v418/milboro/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150730_163229_zpswzw1mcag.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Can anyone shed any light on this peculiar bat and what game you played with it? I’ve put this on Facebook too and the best idea so far is that it is for training one to hit in the centre of the bat, but that’s pure guesswork. I’ve found nothing doing a Google search at all.

Any concrete information, with sources, would be appreciated. Or, alternatively, a good sport/cricket forum I could post to. Ta muchly in advance.… Read more

So, although it’s admittedly in the verges of the byways of popular culture, I wondered whether any of you might share your brewing wisdom.

I’m not going full grain yet. The method seems simple enough: warm the malt, add boiling water, cool with more water, add some hops, pitch the yeast and wait to get the right gravity.

Here’s the bit I’m confused about, though. I’ve bought a pressure barrel, but if I wanted to bottle condition a few to compare them for fizziness, would I fill some bottles from the fermenting vessel or my barrel, via the tap?

I’ve asked the same question on a Hone Brew forum and been totally ignored. I trust the AW massive to have the answers, and I’m sure some of you might like to share your brewing expertise.… Read more